Human Resource Managers Request In-Depth Executive Background Checks

Companies that did not conduct thorough background checks of executives and other employees often experienced detrimental consequences. Scares of future employee fraud have motivated human resource managers to perform deeper searches the next time they decided to hire new employees.

What Exactly is an Executive Background Check?

All employees including executives will undergo similar reference checks. However, investigating executives as opposed to checking entry level or mid-level employees oftentimes concerns financial risk. CEOS, vice-presidents, treasurers and others in high-stake positions often have access to company funds that other employees within the corporation do not have. This level of confidentiality is one of the reasons companies might perform a more extensive background check on executives than other potential employees.

This includes evaluations offered by colleagues. Oftentimes, this reference information for background checks is supplied by the job applicant. Another portion of the background check involves an investigation of a person’s financial and work history as well as an exploration of any existing criminal record.

When conducting executive investigations, reference checks typically involve at least two layers of research. For instance, it might include asking references for additional contacts that can verify prior work performance and accomplishments. All this is carried out to ensure an executive candidate is who he or she claims to be.

The Importance of Conducting Executive Background Checks

In addition to having access to company accounts, executives typically gain insider information about trade secrets. This will likely include patent records and marketing plans the employer would not want leaked to competitors. The need to protect classified corporate information is one reason for checking the background of all executive position candidates.

Executive background checks also protect companies against making investment mistakes. For instance, a thorough screening can identify if a potential investment partner had committed embezzlement or theft in the past. If companies can use pre-employee screenings to prevent losing company funds, it also stops them from pending lawsuits. In addition, knowing in advance who not to hire after receiving background check results can help them avoid negative publicity that could ruin their reputation.

Employee screenings offered by professional background checkers also reveal information that some human resource managers would not want to spend time researching. Otherwise, hiring managers maybe just prefer to turn to someone trained to look for signs of possible shady behavior.

Background Check Methods Used By Corporate Resolutions

A professional background check provider usually observes records, activities, reviews, biographies and histories of a person with a more critical eye than some hiring managers. In the process, any discrepancies normally missed in initial screenings are identified after some extensive research.

Corporate Resolutions, for example, looks for clues that a person has lied on a resume or during an interview as a part of their executive background check. In fact, some companies who almost hired someone later found out that candidates used several alternative identities, had concealed a prior money laundering offence, or falsified educational information.

In some cases, this kind of information emerged by just noticing small errors in clerical records that in many ways reportedly “looked good on the surface.” In fact, some typographical mistakes even covered up the fact that a potential investment partner was a company involved in terrorist activity.

The kind of research on employees conducted by Corporate Resolutions typically reveals truths not seen with an untrained eye. They are not law enforcement. However, they discover inconsistencies in a person’s behaviors that may resemble how a detective might solve a case. This process often includes database access not allowed by just anyone.

Before a company like Corporate Resolutions carries out executive background checks, they do acquire permission from candidates when required. For instance, they typically ask CEO applicants to sign a form consenting to the investigation of criminal records and credit history.